Chapter 10 The Timid Mother
Gu Yiyi was driven home by the driver. The father and daughter sat upright in their chairs, with a serious-looking woman in front of them.
Si Xiaotie tugged at her father's sleeve, and when he looked over, she blinked her big eyes: Oh no, Mom is angry.
Si Yuming knew his wife was angry, so he didn't dare to make a move.
He disagreed with releasing the spider, but the little boy really wanted to see it and begged Si Xiaotie to take it out. Si Xiaotie hesitated and asked if he could release it.
He checked the time and guessed that Lin Ke wouldn't be back so soon, but he didn't give in. "It's up to you. If you let it out, you have to put it away before Mom comes back."
However, Gu Yiyi was already incredibly excited and immediately opened the lid.
Before Si Xiaotie could stop it, the spider crawled out of the web.
The little girl had always played with the spider through a box, so she couldn't possibly remember anything when she saw her beloved little creature crawling right in front of her. She was even happier than Gu Yiyi.
However, no one expected that... Mom would arrive home early.
Si Xiaotie had nowhere to turn for help.
There's nothing we can do.
She jumped off the chair, hugged the woman's leg, and said sweetly, "Mommy~ Little Tie is hungry~"
"Wait for Grandma Chen to cook." Lin Ke looked down and asked seriously, "Didn't you say last night that you wouldn't let the spiders out?"
The little girl pouted, looking aggrieved, "But Gu Yiyi wants to see it."
Lin Ke hadn't originally intended to criticize her much for releasing the spiders, but hearing this made her angry, and she became even more stern: "Si Lezhen, who taught you to shirk responsibility?"
Si Xiaotie trembled and turned to look at his father.
Before Si Yuming could speak, the woman glared at him.
He thought for a moment, then turned and went back to his room.
He didn't know much about taking care of children, so he could only try his best not to cause her any trouble.
Seeing his father leave decisively, Si Xiaotie felt even more heartbroken, and two streams of tears flowed down his face like a broken string of pearls. "Waaah, Mommy..."
Lin Ke had tried to educate her daughter seriously. Si Xiaotie had been daring since she was little and had done many thrilling things, such as catching animals, playing with knives and fire, and going with strangers. Every time, she had to give her a long lecture, otherwise she would do it again. Fortunately, she understood after being told once, otherwise she really didn't know how this little person would grow up.
Lin Ke resisted the urge to hug her. "Do you know why Mommy is angry?"
Si Xiaotie stood at attention obediently, crying as he said, "We can't let the spider out."
"Anything else?"
"We can't shirk responsibility." The little girl tugged at her clothes again, looking up with her face covered in graffiti, "Mommy..."
"Um?"
The little girl, her face full of innocent ignorance, asked timidly, "What does shirking responsibility mean?"
Lin Ke found it both funny and helpless, and squatted down to look her in the eye. "If it's your own fault and responsibility, you have to take responsibility for it yourself. You can't push it onto others."
Si Xiaotie understood a little. "Releasing the spiders is Xiaotie's responsibility, right?"
"Yes, because Spider is Little Iron's pet, so we have to be responsible for Spider."
"I understand, Mom."
Lin Ke hugged her, her tone softening, "Sweetie, sharing with friends is a wonderful thing. We'll invite Gu Yiyi to see your spider again next time."
"Mmm!" Si Xiaotie hugged her back, his voice soft: "Is Mommy still angry?"
"I'm not angry anymore."
Si Xiaotie softened his voice again: "Can I still go see Spider?"
"Of course, Xiao Tie can be friends with the spider as long as he can keep himself safe."
The little girl loosened her grip and suddenly grinned, "Mommy, Daddy said he'll buy me bird-eating spiders, red-knee spiders, and golden copper spiders, so I'll have lots and lots of spiders."
A question mark slowly appeared in Lin Ke's mind: ? ? ?
Hearing this, a man who seemed to be doing nothing came out and reminded her, "Si Xiaotie, don't scare your mother anymore."
"Hehe, Mom, Uncle Zhang will come to pick up Spider soon. It will live in a big box with my bird-eating spider, red-knee spider, and golden copper spider, and then they can weave big webs." The little girl, who was also very carefree, had already forgotten that she had been standing in the corner crying in grievance just two minutes ago, and her eyes were full of excitement.
Lin Ke understood and turned her head in surprise to look at the person who had already gone to the kitchen.
Si Xiaotie turned her face towards him, cupped her cheeks in his hands, and looked at her earnestly, as if he were both complaining and confessing, "Daddy said I can only choose between Spider and Mommy. I want Mommy, because Mommy is scared~"
She didn't know what to say, so she leaned closer and kissed the little girl, "Thank you, baby."
Before going to sleep that night, Lin Ke said thank you to him in the dark.
"I should apologize, I'm sorry for scaring you." Si Yuming hugged her from behind and pressed her head down as he spoke, "I remember when you were four or five years old, you would follow Jin Yang and the others to Grandpa's little pond to catch fish, and after catching them, you would chase the dogs, and the dogs would have nowhere to escape."
"..."
The current Lin Ke is gentle and quiet. Whether at work or in life, she shows a gentle and generous personality. However, the Lin Ke who used to live in the compound would occasionally turn into Si Xiaotie and often follow that little rascal Jin Yang to do bad things.
Why are you so timid now?
Lin Ke got angry and turned to look at him, "Si Yuming, what do you mean?"
The man remained silent, allowing their gazes to meet and intertwine.
He remembered the dream and thought about her fear.
After a long pause, he asked in a low voice, "Are your father and stepmother treating you badly?"
Shortly after the Lin family moved out of the compound, they heard that Mrs. Lin had passed away, and six months later Lin Qiliang married a new wife.
Later, his parents passed away unexpectedly, and he had no interest in hearing more, leaving a gap in his understanding of her.
Lin Ke was taken aback when he suddenly said that.
Then he hurriedly turned around and stiffly said, "Go to sleep."
He hugged me from behind again.
......
On Saturday afternoon, Lin Ke instructed Aunt Chen to take care of Si Xiaotie, without telling Si Yuming, and drove back to the Lin family home.
Lin Qiliang owns a decoration company, and despite the economic downturn, he is still able to open several branches, all of which are large real estate companies.
She didn't know the ins and outs of doing business, but everyone knew that Si Yuming was involved. From customers to suppliers, everyone gave the Si family some face.
In recent years, the Lin family has moved from a small apartment outside the Third Ring Road to a large villa in the city center. Lin Jiayan spent money to buy a university, Lin Jialang has all kinds of luxury bags, not to mention Zhu Li's dazzling jewelry.
As the car drove into the courtyard, Lin Ke looked at the three-story building in front of her, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
Lin Qiliang and his wife had reserved a room for her on the third floor in a corner, but she had only stayed there a handful of times. This place... couldn't even be called her parents' home.
She had told Lin Qiliang beforehand that Si Yuming and Xiao Tie wouldn't be coming, so Zhu Li's smile wasn't very warm when the door opened.
Lin Ke smiled as she handed over the gift, saying, "Happy birthday, Auntie."
Zhu Li accepted it, turned to the side, and said, "Thank you, Keke. Come in quickly."
Inside the house, Lin Qiliang was busy in the kitchen, Lin Jialang was nowhere to be seen, and Lin Jiayan was lazily lying on the sofa playing games. Hearing the noise, he turned around, glanced at her, and quickly called out "Sister" as a greeting.
Zhu Li scolded him: "All you do all day is play games. I don't know what's so fun about your stupid games. Go wash some fruit for your sister."
"Oh dear, I've only just started." Lin Jiayan's attention was entirely on the game. "Sis, you wash the fruit and drink the water yourself, I don't have time."
"You silly child." Zhu Li turned around and smiled at her again. "Keke, you sit down first. I'll go and cook the last two dishes for your dad."
"good."
Lin Ke sat down at the other end of the sofa and poured herself a glass of water using a disposable cup.
She looked around and still felt unfamiliar.
She was eight or nine years old when Lin Jiayan and Lin Jialang were born, and she was in elementary school. Lin Qiliang was busy making a living and taking care of two babies, so he had no time to take care of her.
Si Yuming asked if Lin Qiliang and Zhu Li had treated her badly. She replied that they hadn't. Lin Qiliang still remembered her as his biological daughter, and Zhu Li also had her pride.
At that time, the Lin family, who had recently gone bankrupt, was living in poverty. The family lived on the second floor of a walk-up building in the suburbs in the 1970s or 1980s. Spiders, cockroaches, and rats would occasionally crawl into her room through the poorly closed windows. One morning in spring, when everything was reviving, she woke up to find a small green snake coiled on her second-grade workbook.
Later, her maternal grandmother took her in. Those were the happiest and most carefree days of her childhood. Her grandmother loved her and would sew clothes and knit scarves for her by hand, and braid her hair into pretty little braids. Every day there were all kinds of delicious food and fun things to do.
However, her maternal grandmother passed away when she was in junior high school. She returned to the Lin family, which had become well-off, and began boarding school life, which she continued until she graduated from high school.
For her, the Lin family home was more like a place to stay during summer and winter vacations.
However, during winter and summer vacations, she still had to share a room with Lin Jialang. Lin Jialang was lively and playful, and often made so much noise that she couldn't sleep.
After starting university, she was able to take on some part-time jobs to earn money, which enabled her to rent a place outside. Later, she rarely came back during winter and summer vacations.
As I grew up, I discovered that there were so many girls like her in this world. Perhaps I was lucky; at least I had enough to eat, warm clothes, and grew up safely and healthily.
So what she has now is enough for her to be grateful for. She doesn't ask for great wealth or status; living a free and comfortable life with Si Xiaotie is her greatest wish.
Lost in thought, Lin Jialang came downstairs, wearing a floral sundress and heavy makeup.
Presumably because of what happened a couple of days ago, the girl glanced at him with mixed feelings, then squeezed next to Lin Jiayan and whispered, "I'm not going back tonight, you cover for me."
"Where are you going again? Aren't you going to eat?"
"Of course I have to eat, or Mom will kill me." Lin Jialang nudged him. "Just tell me, is it okay or not?"
Lin Jiayan, realizing something, put down her phone: "Are you going on a date?! With that senior of yours?"
"Don't talk nonsense..."
The siblings spoke softer and softer, while Lin Ke sat alone beside them, already used to similar scenes.
They are siblings; she is just a half-sister.
Lin Qiliang took charge of the cooking, and soon a table full of dishes was ready. Lin Ke washed her hands and sat down at the table.
"Keke, eat more. Your aunt went to the market to buy you a lot of seafood."
"Yes, thank you, Auntie."
Lin Jialang gave a very slight smile, moved closer to Lin Jiayan, and whispered, "Auntie, Auntie, Mom really wants to be your auntie for life."
Lin Ke paused for a moment, then returned to normal after a few seconds.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Qiliang finally asked, "Keke, what has Yuming been doing lately?"
Lin Ke replied, "He just signed a big project a while ago, so he's been quite busy."
"No matter how busy you are, you must take care of your health. Please show more concern for your well-being."
She picked up a mouthful of rice and put it in her mouth. "Mmm."
"Your aunt and I will go visit Xiao Tie in a couple of days, and have a meal with Yu Ming while we're at it."
She insisted on seeing him. Lin Ke looked up and asked directly, "Did something happen at home?"
Lin Qiliang was a little embarrassed. "Nothing's wrong, it's nothing."
Zhu Li tugged at him and said directly, "Keke, there is such a thing... but it's not so convenient for us to find Yu Ming. Go back and see if you can help put in a good word for us."
Lin Ke put down her chopsticks and sat up straight: "What is it?"
“Business has become increasingly difficult in the past two years. The companies that we worked with before have either gone bankrupt or closed down. Those that are still barely hanging on are delaying payments. Now, several projects owe us money, and we can’t even pay our workers’ wages.”
“There’s a big development project starting next month in the suburbs, with both high-rise and villa buildings. I heard that Entropy Group is a shareholder. Do you think we could give this project to your dad? It doesn’t matter who does it, your dad’s company has a good reputation and excellent craftsmanship.”
Lin Jiayan, who was listening, chuckled and said, "They're planning to build a retirement community in that suburb, right? If we go there, can I get a GTR instead?"
Zhu Li glared at him, "Finish your meal and go play your game."
Lin Jiayan pouted, "What? My sister can drive a Mercedes-Benz, and I only drive a beat-up Audi."
Lin Jialang: "Hey, hey, hey, don't pull me!"
Zhu Li waved her chopsticks in the air and said, "Shut up."
Lin Ke remained silent.
Lin Qiliang was somewhat embarrassed. "Keke, we're not doing this for personal gain. So many workers are with us; we have to make sure they have work to do."
She took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and put on a faint smile. "Dad, do you remember? I will be divorcing Si Yuming in six months."
The siblings, unaware of what was happening, looked over in shock.
Lin Qiliang and his wife seemed to have forgotten about it, but Lin Qiliang didn't care much. "The situation was special back then. Now that the old man has passed away, we've been living like this for four or five years. Besides, Xiao Tie is already so big. Why would we get a divorce?"
Zhu Li advised, "Keke, if we don't mention the divorce, no one will remember it. You should also pay attention to it. Where will you find such a good husband after the divorce?"
Lin Jiayan hurriedly said, "Sister, you can't get a divorce! How can you get a divorce!"
Lin Ke glanced at the four people, each with a different expression. They all shared the same goal—she couldn't get a divorce.
In fact, she often felt ashamed.
This is also why Si Yun dislikes herself and looks down on the Lin family.
The Lin family "sold" their daughter for profit back then, and in recent years they have been relentlessly sucking the blood of the Si family.
Perhaps to outsiders it's just a few words of discussion, insignificant, but when she thinks about it, she feels she has no backbone at all.
As long as the Lin family extends one hand to Si Yuming with his palm facing upwards, she will never be able to straighten her back.
Lin Ke clenched her fists and calmly said, "I can't interfere with the project; you can bid according to the procedures. As for the divorce—"
After a few seconds of pause, she continued, "I will go with him to complete the formalities next March."
......
I got home around 7:00.
As soon as the door opened, the barefoot little girl ran over and jumped into her arms, speaking in her usual sweet, babbling voice: "Mommy, where did you go? Daddy made so many dishes, we've been waiting for you and you haven't come back. Daddy even called you so many times."
Lin Ke looked past the small figure and saw several dishes on the dining table. Her eyes met those of the man on the sofa who was looking back.
He was wearing a dark loungewear outfit, his hair was smooth, and the warm yellow halo above him made him look gentle.
After a moment, she looked away, stroked the little girl's chubby, rosy cheeks, and said softly, "Mommy was busy and didn't hear the phone."
"Alright then." Si Xiaotie took her hand and led her inside. "Let's go wash our hands and have dinner."
As he passed through the living room, he shouted loudly, "Dad, time to eat!"
She found out that Si Yuming could cook when she was two months pregnant.
At that time, she would vomit whatever she ate and had no appetite at all. Her aunt tried to cook all sorts of different meals, but it was no use.
One night, she was about to vomit bile again. Her aunt was already resting, but the man who was woken up got up to pour her water. After the vomiting subsided, he made her a bowl of noodles.
The refreshing egg and vegetable noodles were the first complete meal she had in two weeks.
Looking back now, it was mostly psychological, after all, it was the first time she had ever eaten something he made.
I've cooked these dishes a few times since Si Xiaotie was born, and they were all simple home-style dishes that tasted pretty good.
Lin Ke picked up a brightly colored cola chicken wing and took a bite. It was very sweet, just like Si Xiaotie's taste.
As it turned out, Si Xiaotie really liked it, his mouth covered in sauce as he ate. "Mom, is it delicious?"
She said, "It's delicious."
Si Xiaotie gave the man two thumbs up, providing ample emotional support, "Dad's awesome!"
Si Yuming placed another one on her plate, saying, "Thank you, baby."
"From now on, Dad will cook for us."
"......"
Seeing the man's somewhat troubled expression, Lin Ke finally couldn't help but laugh.
A note from the author:
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